Michael Hunter (18-1, 12 KOs) is one of the boxers named by Bob Arum on a five-man shortlist to face Tyson Fury in December, but the American does not expect the WBC heavyweight champion to choose him because he feels he poses more of a threat than even Deontay Wilder.
It looks as though the Fury-Wilder trilogy is at the very least postponed and may not happen at all, with COVID-19 restrictions making a decent-sized crowd impossible and Arum's hoped date of Dec. 19 in Las Vegas falling through.
Fury is adamant he will fight one more time in 2020, which led to his Stateside promoter identifying a quintet of suitable keep-busy adversaries ahead of the planned heavyweight unification megafight in 2021 with Anthony Joshua.
However, Hunter has very little expectation of being selected.
“There has been no offer put out there yet," he told Press Box. "I am just as close as I was a year ago, I’m the same distance. I don’t think there’s going to be a fight with Tyson Fury because there are easier fights. They would rather have easier fights, but you never know. I think I pose more of a threat than his original opponent Deontay Wilder. I’m the best one on their list, but I can guarantee they’ll pick the easiest or softest opponent. It’s not about fighters fighting the best people anymore. Fury needs the fear factor, but he doesn’t need to be in fear. He wants to be a little scared, he does not want to be totally scared.
"Technically, energetically, spiritually I would not be the right business move. It would be more honorable to fight someone like me, but in this day and age, it's more business. It’s all based on money. I guarantee they’ll get a cheaper opponent in and it will be a lot easier, that’s just the world we live in."
Nonetheless, Hunter says he would absolutely take the fight if he was offered the opportunity, continuing to assert that he had his way with Fury when the two met at the amateur level.
Fury last year lashed out at The Sun for claiming he lost to Hunter when he did not, while the American claims he was robbed of a win by the judges.
“I would fight for free, I'd fight Tyson Fury for absolutely nothing," he continued. "There’s a lot of budget being saved right there, and they still wouldn't fight me. I see this as a Tyson Fury move rather than a Top Rank move - I think the amateurs have a lot to do with it. People say it was the amateurs and it was a long time ago, but it’s a little different when you beat him how I beat him. I felt I beat my guy every step of the way, It wasn't really close. I felt I won a unanimous decision and almost by knockout, I had him out on his feet towards the end. It’s the same nature if we fought now, you’d see him in deep water. Taken to a place he doesn't want to be. I would cut the fight short.
“The only thing he has is he’s bigger than me. He’s not stronger than me, faster than me, he has nothing more than me. His will isn’t as strong, his mental capacity - we know that has some faultiness to it - I could see a lot of things I could capitalize on. We were scheduled to fight a second time in the amateurs at a black-tie event, very prestigious. Fury was the man at the time and we were the main event. He quit and didn’t honor the second fight, he didn’t show up to the weigh-in. He was a no show.”
So, who from the other four on Arum's list - Agit Kabayel, Efe Ajagba, Oscar Rivas and Charles Martin - does Hunter think will get the nod?
“I think Kabayel or Ajagba because it’s easier to deal with when it comes to the business," he answered. “The number one thing is they’re not risking anything. Everyone is going to get a paycheck and no problems.”
Whatever happens, Hunter believes that there's no need for Fury to fight Wilder a third time, even if "The Bronze Bomber" has a contracted rematch.
“I think that they have made the right decision by not fighting. He was already 2-0 (Editor's note: Wilder is 0-1-1) with Tyson Fury, I don’t think he was fit for it. Not necessarily physically, but mentally. For Deontay I don’t think he was mentally prepared this time around. That’s not to say he won’t be prepared in a year or something. I think there was a lot on him with the business, a lot of people saying this and that.
“I think even in the second fight there was a lot of push and pull but he was still strong enough and had enough control at that time to continue to go on with the fight. He could have had an injury too, but then it fell apart, it didn’t go his way. This third fight would be the worst situation because he’s not totally ready yet, it’s not a good business move.”